Indy Eleven NPSL: Building a legacy

The Indy Eleven NPSL formally the Indiana Fire NPSL are currently in second place amongst the Midwest Region -Great Lakes East Conference with 3 points trailing Ohio rival AFC Cleveland that leads the conference with 6 points. The Eleven played their home opener of the season on Friday May 20th under the lights against NPSL Expansion side Rochester Riverdogz winning 2-0 giving the Club it’s first points of the season. The Club will host a friendly against the Lansing United on Friday May 20th at Grand Park in Westfield, IN as a warm up to the Erie Commodores FC match at home on June 3rd. So what makes Indy Eleven NPSL so special? Let’s discuss.

Background:

The Club has rebranded a good 4 times before it’s current status as the Indy Eleven NPSL in 2016. Prior to being the Eleven the club was the Indiana Fire NPSL winning it’s first the Midwest Region in 2015 prior to this Club was based in Chicago as a development team for the Chicago Fire SC being known as the Chicago Fire NPSL once the club came to Indiana it became a fantastic feeder for Hoosier Talent created by the Indiana Fire Academy. The Club began as an offshoot of the Rockford Raptors organization, who were members of the old USISL in the early 1990s, and played for seven seasons in the USISL Pro League and USL Premier Development League, reaching the Conference Playoffs on two occasions before leaving the league at the end of the 2000 season. The Club would later to go in a different direction moving to Chicago and the rest is History!

Club Results (Since 2007):

Note: Data goes (Win-Tie-Loss) followed by Playoffs, and the U.S. Open Cup:

2007

3–6–1

5th, Midwest

Did not qualify

Did not qualify

2008

3–1–2

2nd (tie), Midwest

Did not qualify

Did not qualify

2009

5–2–1

1st (tie), Midwest

Did not qualify

Did not enter

2010

5–1–3

2nd, Midwest

Did not qualify

Did not enter

2011

4–3–5

5th, Midwest

Did not qualify

Did not qualify

2014

7–3–4

3rd, Great Lakes West

Did not qualify

Not Eligible

2015

7–2–3

4th, Midwest

National Semifinals

Did not qualify

The Club’s All Time Record is 34-18-19 with a 1-0-1 Record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Location:

The Indy Eleven NPSL is the second NPSL Franchise in Indiana behind FC Indiana which plays it’s matches in Northern Indiana. The Eleven plays it’s home games at Grand Park in Westfield, IN which is also home to the Indy Eleven Training Ground. The best part of Grand Park overall is the atmosphere. Why? Because nowhere else in American Soccer will you get to watch a match next to a cornfield! Definitely is something different.

Head Coach John Simmonds:

Simmonds has established the club as one of the Midwestern powers in the National Premier Soccer League after starting his managing career with a 7-4-3 record during the team’s first season (as the Indiana Fire) in 2014, Simmonds led the squad to a 10-3-3 record and their first Midwest Region championship in 2015 (as the Indiana Fire ), earning the club a spot in the NPSL National Semifinals and a U.S. Open Cup berth. So far in 2016 in all competitions he has led the Club to a 2-0-2 Start winning the Club’s first ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match against the Cincinnati Dutch Lions 1-0 at Grand Park. The Club would later fall to USL side FC Cincinnati 2-1.

“Developing a partnership with Indy Eleven, Indiana’s only professional soccer organization, is an exciting development for our team. This relationship will help significantly as we continue to identify college players and other amateurs who have the potential to move up the professional ranks, starting from the NPSL level. 2016 will be a landmark season for Indy Eleven NPSL as we begin this new partnership with Indy Eleven, prepare to compete in our first U.S. Open Cup game and defend our NPSL Midwest Region championship.” – John Simmonds

2016: The 2016 Season brings a lot of promise for the club with the return of many former Fire players back to the now Indy Eleven Roster: http://www.indyeleven.com/npsl-roster along with adding depth in the Coaching Staff adding Indy Eleven Goalkeeper and MLS Veteran John Busch to the coaching staff to give the team some extra expertise when it comes to defense.

The Eleven NPSL look to become a staple in the lore of Soccer in the Circle City after a successful campaign as the Indiana Fire. Now with financial backing of the Indy Eleven, and support of the Brickyard Battalion the atmosphere of the Club is sure to be very entertaining and will be fantastic as they defend the Midwest title!

Season Tickets are available for $40 which come with a fantastic scarf paying homage to the Eleven (the Fire’s) 2015 Midwest Region Championship.

About Post Author

Originally from Indianapolis, IN Ayers contributes all things Indy Eleven Professional Soccer from the NPSL Club all the way to the Senior Team. Ayers has past experience contributing MLS coverage for the Inscriber Online Magazine. Ayers studies Communications at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis.